Jalen, lover of B-grade sci-fi movies, meets the far-too-handsome P in a café while deciding whether or not to skip uni again. When P invites them along to a double feature of Robot Monster and Cat Women of the Moon, Jalen can hardly believe that hot boys like bad sci-fi, too. But as their relationship progresses, Jalen realizes P leaves them wondering if they’re on the same page about what dating means, and if that’s what they’re doing.

Finding queer New Adult short fiction is slowly becoming my new favorite pastime. I feel like there’s a bit of an age gap sometimes in our fiction that forgets humans live a life after turning 18 and before the big 3-0 (but that’s a story for another time). I’m going to try not to make this a hype review, but I seriously love Long Macchiatos and Monsters. I’m so glad I decided to reread this one before writing the review because I had more of an appreciation for it when I knew what to expect.

This is very much a character-driven story, and you won’t be disappointed with following Jalen around. I fell in love with P and Jalen from the jump. Jalen was the perfect main character, and I found their love of cheesy sci-fi movies to be endearing af. Tbh, 100% would cuddle them in a heartbeat. Also, P and Jalen’s relationship was so refreshingly real and relaxed— from all of the jokes between the two to their moments of doing absolutely nothing but being in each other’s presence— that I was glad to just be along for the ride.

But while we get bits of Jalen’s life outside of the relationship, P remains a complete enigma. I know this was probably to put the reader in Jalen’s shoes of not being able to for sure define the relationship between the two, but this was a plot point that was never resolved. Hell, by the time the story ended, I felt like Jalen… “Bro, I know nothing about you. Tell me something right now, or I’m stepping.” And just when we’re about to get something of a backstory from P, the book… ends which just left everything seeming unfinished.

I did have some issues with the cohesiveness in this novella. It was a hit it and quit it story that tried to give so many different scenes and time frames but took away the cohesiveness of the story by doing so. There was too much jumping around for me, and it didn’t feel like all of the scenes always flowed together. I mean, I get it. It’s a short story, and there’s so much ground to cover; but it just got distracting. Scenes that could have been extended to better understand the characters– like Jalen’s life with their sister or P’s interactions with his mother (or any friends he may have had). By the time everything really started coming to a head, the book just ends. There isn’t a resolution. There isn’t really an explanation. There were just so many missed opportunities for expansion. I also need some sort of conflict to keep my interest high. While there is a little bit of tension waiting in the wings with P’s mom (which is never really explained), it wasn’t enough.

This book was short and sweet, but perhaps it was tooshort and sweet. Novellas are my thing, yo, but Macchiatos needed to be longer (because I’m utterly OBSESSED with P and Jalen and need more). IS THERE MORE? WILL THERE BE MORE?!

I was nominated by Emily over at Rose Read for the Mystery Blogger Award! Emily is a wonderful blogger studying to be a librarian who is one of the coolest people I have the pleasure of actually knowing IRL. Seriously, the blogosphere is smaller than you know, kids, because we found each other in the most random way possible. You should check her out, starting with this incredibly honest review of Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur or these questions for book bloggers for her final project!

Ten years ago, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up, leaving behind his adolescent dreams of boyhood and resigning himself to life as Wendy Darling. Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is.

But when he returns to Neverland, everything has changed: the Lost Boys have become men, and the war games they once played are now real and deadly. Even more shocking is the attraction Peter never knew he could feel for his old rival, Captain Hook—and the realization that he no longer knows which of them is the real villain.

Yes, a quarterly blog wrapup… And, no, it’s not just because I have been slacking for the past three months on the blog in general (okay, it totally is).

This has been a whirlwind of a year. Can you believe it’s only April?! (In that same vein, can you believe it’s already April?!) Jeez. As some of you may have noticed, I haven’t been around the blogosphere much. The plan was to take a break in February, write like mad in March, and be ahead of the game in April. All the ended up happening was me staring longingly at the WordPress reader wanting to write but not having the energy to do anything. Now, I’m somewhat refreshed, almost a year older, and ready to kick my butt into gear.

I literally have a backlog of awards and tags dating all the way back to January 2016, and here I am doing one of the newer ones. Oh well. Sometimes, I just get tired of talking about the same books for the same questions and need something to break up the monotony. So, many shout outs to Liam @ Hey Ashers! (who is, indeed, one of my faves anyway) for creating this award. Also, thanks to Liam and Emily @ Rose Read for tagging me in this beauty. Hopefully I captured my aesthetic (or lack thereoff) well enough. Continue reading →

“Better Late Than Never” should really be my site’s tagline, tbh, but here’s my TBR for this year’s Diverse-A-Thon (I literally picked the three shortest diverse reads in my keep because that’s the only way I’ll make it through the week). In case you’re wondering what all of the hubbub is about, Diverse-a-Thon is a week-long event that seeks to celebrate the diversity in books. Not to mention it’s my favorite type of readathon/challenge– virtually stress-free! (I say “virtually” because we all know I’m putting that pressure on myself to finish up all of these books whether I like it or not.)

Title: History is All You Left Me (2017)Author: Adam SilveraPublisher: Soho TeenThemes: Young Adult, M/M RomanceRating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads Summary:

When Griffin’s first love and ex-boyfriend, Theo, dies in a drowning accident, his universe implodes. Even though Theo had moved to California for college and started seeing Jackson, Griffin never doubted Theo would come back to him when the time was right. But now, the future he’s been imagining for himself has gone far off course.

To make things worse, the only person who truly understands his heartache is Jackson. But no matter how much they open up to each other, Griffin’s downward spiral continues. He’s losing himself in his obsessive compulsions and destructive choices, and the secrets he’s been keeping are tearing him apart.

If Griffin is ever to rebuild his future, he must first confront his history, every last heartbreaking piece in the puzzle of his life.

My Thoughts:

Adam Silvera is the king of realistic YA fiction. Yeah, I said it.

How do you even begin a review for a book that made you feel so much? It’s been a while since I’ve read something with tears in my eyes, so thank you, Adam Silvera, for making me feel human. From page one, I was hooked and ready to dub History is All You Left Me (referred to as HISTORY moving forward) my fave read of the year. Seriously, the first 222 pages were so good and emotional that I went into a bit of a reading slump… So, I demand a support group to help me get over my hurt feelings.

This week’s topic is “Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn’t Get To (But TOTALLY plan to).” What a mouthful. Also… only half accurate.

Let me explain. When I set out to read ALL OF THE THINGS last year, I knew of like… two books coming out in 2016. [Blah Blah Blah… I’m a disgrace to readers everywhere… Blah Blah Blah]. So, I hadn’t really planned on reading anything published in 2016 [/pauses here to allow for gasps of pure surprise and wonderment] Of course, as the year rolled on and I attempted to get into the trenches of book blogging, I did discover a few things that piqued my interest enough for me to acknowledge their existence but not enough for me to ever do anything about it. These are the books I’m going to talk about.

Will I read them? Maybe. Probably not. I’m flaky af. Would I like to if I had all of the hours in the world and none of the people bothering me? Yes. And that will just have to be enough for now.

Are you well? Is now the right time to start singing, “I don’t want a lot for Christmas. There is just one thing are just a few things I need”? I never got to write to you via Macy’s this year, so this will have to do. I imagine Mrs. Claus lets you get on the internet in this day and age, so I hope this message finds you in a timely manner… even though I’m sure you’ve come to expect nothing other than utter procrastination from me. Moving on! I’ve been a decent enough human this year, so I would like to make a few humble bookish requests. I totally understand if you’ve already finished my gifts for the year. Christmas is Sunday and all. However, if you could find it in your heart, these are the things I wouldn’t mind seeing under my beautiful tree this year.

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted on Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we’re eagerly anticipating. I don’t typically participate in this meme, but I never got to talk about these two January releases I’m currently stanning for. So, here they are– my first book baes of 2017 (and the first two ARCs I’ve ever completed).